Chinuch/Education

Most students who follow the Chinuch Track at Lander are interested in teaching, administration in Jewish day schools and yeshivas, or joining the rabbinate.

On this track, you’ll have the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology from LCM and a master’s degree in Jewish Studies with a concentration in Jewish Education from Touro in as little as five years.

Throughout the program, our hands-on approach is designed to give you practical classroom experience while building deeper knowledge through advanced Torah study and an excellent college education alongside the study of educational techniques and philosophy. The emphasis of the program is on preparing students to be skillful and effective mechanchim.

Curriculum That Supports Your Success as an Educator

The chinuch track curriculum starts with a broad base of knowledge in psychology, gemara studies, and halacha. As you progress into years two and three, you’ll begin to connect what you’ve learned to topics in Jewish education, including fostering positive classroom psychology, creating effective curriculum, and applying classroom management techniques.

Upper-level courses transition in year three to advanced classroom placements and seminars to deepen your ability to apply theory in real-world settings.

Graduate-level classes are typically available to LCM students online via Zoom after second seder. Up to 12 of your graduate school credits also count toward your undergraduate degree, so you’ll be able to complete your M.A. and B.A. more quickly than in other education master’s programs.

A Blend of Judaic and General Education Principles

As you move through the chinuch track progression, you’ll notice that your classes draw not just from secular best practices in education, but also from Torah sources. If you’re studying positive psychology, for example, you’ll look at sources of happiness as outlined in Judaic traditions, and delve into current research studies on how to create a classroom environment in which students are motivated and happy. We discuss both the teacher/student and rebbe/talmid relationships.

Professors Who Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk

At LCM, you’ll be in class with just a few dozen other students, so you’ll get personal attention. Lander’s chinuch track faculty also are accomplished educators themselves, able to teach theory combined with the benefit of decades of practical experience.

You’ll be mentored by Rabbi Shmuel Klammer, Ed.D., dean of Touro College Israel and former head of several schools in the United States. Rabbi Klammer has taught many grades over the years and served as a shul rav.

His goal is to guide students toward the teaching settings that are best for them — and to support them with detailed recommendation letters and networking opportunities with principals who may be hiring.

Your courses will also feature guest lectures from LCM graduates who know what you’re going through. Some of them are principals. Some of them are teachers. Some of them are rabbis. They each have their own perspective and insights to share with you.

Practicum Spotlight: Developing Your Teaching Style

The chinuch track allows you to gain up to four semesters of real-world learning through our practicum classes. This is where “the rubber meets the road.” You’ll first observe and analyze how effective teachers do what they do, focusing on specific techniques. Then you’ll try it yourself giving two model lessons, where you’ll receive feedback from your classmates when you present, and provide it when you’re the audience.

You’ll also get one-on-one advice from faculty to hone your teaching style. The program culminates in a comprehensive exam or paper in which you put it all together.

Where Chinuch Graduates Are Now

After completing the master’s degree program, Lander graduates have gone on to serve as:

• Teachers at all levels
• Principals and assistant principals
• Campus rabbis
• Rebbis and heads of programming in yeshivas and prestigious day schools
• Rosh Kollel/assistant rabbis in prominent shuls
• Sgan Mashgichim
• Leaders in Jewish youth groups/nonprofits
• Professionals in other fields who apply their knowledge of Chinuch, such as medical students who give shiurim in medical halacha while pursuing an M.D.

Alumni Spotlight: Rav Mordechai Burg

Running a yeshiva is more than a full-time job, says Rav Mordechai Burg, Menahel of Yeshivat Shaarei Mevaseret Tzion. The LCM alum’s days fill quickly with shiurim, individual meetings with his talmidim, advising the other rabbeim and their talmidim, and hanhala meetings. 

“When you also need to support your own family … let's just say it is exceptionally challenging,” he notes. Through it all, the spiritual path he forged at Lander helps him stay grounded. “I have been exceptionally blessed to have had some exceptional rabbeim in my life who inspired my Judaism and who really made an impact on the way I see the world. I wanted to ‘pay it forward’ to my own talmidim.”

His mentors at Lander emphasized the value of a life where avodas Hashem played the central role, and Rav Burg has found this to be true: “Chazal explain that we learn much from our rabbeim but most from our talmidim. In my lived experience this resonates as deeply true. I am continuously inspired by the authenticity and the pursuit of a growth-oriented life that so many talmidim display every year.”

What You Can Expect from Lander

Aside from small class sizes, experienced faculty, individualized attention, and demanding academics, you can expect alumni connections, support to enter the professional world, and an understanding of what you might be looking for as a Torah Jew raising a family and earning a living.

• As with all Touro majors, we have a strong alumni network you can rely on, and a powerhouse Career Services department that will prepare you for the workplace and help you start your career.
• As part of our mentoring program, we can match you with alumni currently in the field to mentor you and answer any questions on your career.
• We host career night dinners each year, where alumni come back to campus and gather around the dinner table with you, to help you get an inside view of their career with real talk about the profession.
• No disconnect between your morning in the Beis Medrash and your afternoon in a college classroom. Torah infuses everything we do. The shiur course you’ll take on psychology and halacha is one example of the balance and coordination you’ll find here.